Gheorghe Văleanu

Gheorghe Văleanu (February 12, 1864 – January 12, 1948)^[2] was a Romanian major general and military commander. During the First World War he commanded VI., IV. and II. corps and was notable in the Battle of Mărăști^[3] and the Third Battle of Oituz.^[4]

Gheorghe Văleanu
Born	(1864-02-12)12 February 1864 Slatina, Olt County, Romanian United Principalities
Died	12 January 1948(1948-01-12) (aged 83) Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Allegiance	Kingdom of Romania
Branch	Romanian Land Forces
Years of service	1882—1918
Rank	Major General[1]
Battles / wars	Second Balkan War World War I Second Battle of Oituz Battle of Mărăști Third Battle of Oituz
Alma mater	École Polytechnique School of Applied Artillery Higher War School
Minister of Public Works
In office March 13, 1920 – June 13, 1920
Prime Minister	Alexandru Averescu
Preceded by	Mihai Popovici
Succeeded by	Dimitrie Greceanu [ro]
Minister of Communications
In office June 13, 1920 – December 16, 1921
Prime Minister	Alexandru Averescu
Succeeded by	Constantin Cihodariu
In office March 30, 1926 – June 4, 1927
Prime Minister	Alexandru Averescu
Preceded by	Artur Văitoianu
Succeeded by	Constantin D. Dimitriu

Văleanu (front center) with other commanding officers of the Romanian 2nd Army, 1917

Military career

Gheorghe Văleanu was born on February 12, 1864, in Slatina. He was the son of Costică and Maria Văleanu born Niculescu.^[5] After completing high school in Iași, he began his military training in 1882 by attending the Military School for Infantry and Cavalry in Bucharest, which he completed in 1884, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant. From 1884 he attended the École Polytechnique in Paris, and after that from 1888 to 1889 the School of Artillery and Engineering in Fontainebleau. He reached the rank of lieutenant in 1887 then promoted to the rank of captain in 1890, and promoted to the rank of major in 1895.^[2]

From 1895 to 1899 Văleanu taught at the National School of Bridges and Roads.^[2] He attended the Higher War School in Bucharest and graduated from it in 1899.^[6] In 1901 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he taught at the Higher War School from 1902 to 1906. He reached the rank of colonel in 1907, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1912, after which in 1914 he became commander of the 2nd Division. In 1916 he was appointed commander of the fortified city of Bucharest.^[2]

World War I

After Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente, Văleanu was appointed commander of the VI. corps. The corps, which consisted of the 16th and 18th Divisions, was part of the 3rd Army under the command of Mihail Aslan, and held positions south of Bucharest. Văleanu commanded the Sixth Corps until September 27, 1916, when the corps was disbanded.

On June 11, 1917, Văleanu was appointed commander of the IV. corps of the 2nd Army.^[7] While commanding the IV. corps, he participated in the Battle of Mărăști,^[3] after which he was promoted to the rank of divisional general.^[8] He commanded the Fourth Corps until August 1, 1917, when he took command of the II. corps replacing the command with Artur Văitoianu who in turn became commander of the IV. corps. After taking command of II. Corps, Văleanu, commanding them, took part in the Third Battle of Oituz.^[4] He commanded the Second Corps until February 5, 1918, after which he resigned from the Army.

Political career

In April 1918 he joined General Alexandru Averescu's People's Party.^[9] In 1920 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and later to the Senate. Văleanu served as Minister of Public Works (March 13 to June 13, 1920) and Minister of Communications (June 13, 1920, to December 16, 1921) in the Second Averescu cabinet, and again as Minister of Communications in the Third Averescu cabinet (March 30, 1926, to June 4, 1927). He died on January 12, 1948, in Bucharest.^[2]

References

1. Ministry of War, Yearbook of the Romanian Army for 1916, "Universal" Printing House Iancu Ionescu, Bucharest, 1916
2. Pavel, Lelia. "Mausoleul eroilor de la Mărăști" (PDF) (in Romanian). p. 179. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
3. "Fotografii și documente inedite de la bătălia de la Mărăști, publicate de Arhivele Naționale ale României". Historia (in Romanian). Retrieved October 4, 2021.
4. Dinu, Carla (June 11, 2017). "Centenarul bătăliilor de la Mărăști, Mărășești și Oituz. Principesa Margareta și principele Radu merg marți cu Trenul Regal". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). Retrieved October 4, 2021.
5. Poboran, George, History of Slatina, Slatina, 1908
6. Army, Illustrated Magazine, Year II, No. 5-6, April 1920
7. Grand Headquarters, Army Battle Order – August 14, 1916, Bucharest, 1916
8. Kirițescu, Constantin, History of the war for the unification of Romania, vol II, Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989, pp. 59–78
9. Florescu, Gheorghe I. (June 2009). "Alexandru Averescu, omul politic (II)". Convorbiri Literare (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2014-10-14.

Bibliography

• Falkenhayn, Erich von, The 9th Army Campaign against Romanians and Russians, Atelierele Grafice Socec & Co SA, Bucharest, 1937
• Kirițescu, Constantin, History of the war for the unification of Romania, Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989
• Ioanițiu, Alexandru, Războiul României: 1916–1918, vol 1, Tipografia Geniului, București, 1929
• Romania in the World War 1916–1919, Documents, Annexes , Volume 1, Official Gazette and State Printing, Bucharest, 1934
• The General Headquarters of the Romanian Army. Documents 1916–1920, Machiavelli Publishing House, Bucharest, 1996
• Military history of the Romanian people, vol. V, Military Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989
• Romania in the years of the First World War, Military Publishing House, Bucharest, 1987
• Romania in the First World War, Military Publishing House, 1979